Month: July 2016

Plymouth (Plimoth), MA

by Bill Florin, posted in Nature Photography, Photography, Travel Photography, Uncategorized
Ospreys in flight over Ellisville Harbor State Park in Plymouth
Bug Light off Plymouth
The Mayflower II
One of MANY whales spotted during our Captain John’s Whale Watching cruise
Plymouth Light getting a fly-by
Working lobster boat off Plymouth
One of the chickens running aroung the English village at Plimoth Plantation
The English village seen from atop the meetinghouse at Plimoth Plantation
Golden sunset off Manomet Beach

Plymouth, Massachusetts offers more than enough to keep one busy for a week or more. We visited Plimouth Plantation,  the Mayflower II, and, of course, Plymouth Rock. The highlight of our week was the four-hour Captain John’s Whale Watch. If you even thinking about it, go! We saw so many whales exhibiting every feeding behavior of the humpback species. Everywhere we looked off of Provincetown, there where whales feeding and sleeping and, it appeared, showing off for their visitors. Pictures don’t suffice; you must see it for yourself.

Plimouth Plantation is also worth at least two hours. The Wampanoag Native Americans where so knowledgeable and eager to share their culture. Engage in conversation to learn how they lived in harmony with the land and in sync with the seasons over the past 10,000+ years. The English village actors are equally engaging, though in a different way. I won’t spoil it for you. Explore and discover it for yourself.

Wampanoag dugouts require weeks of burning and scraping
Advertisement

Manomet Beach, Plymouth, MA

by Bill Florin, posted in Nature Photography, Photography, Uncategorized
A beautiful beach just north of Cape Cod.
Lots of cloud activity on Saturday night.
A beautiful Sunday morning on Manomet Beach
There was a wicked storm to the north on Saturday evening, but it was still sunny here.

Manomet Beach is on Cape Cod Bay, located just above Cape Cod in Massachusetts. We started off with a windy night on Saturday (24 July 2016). The storms ripped through to the north, but we got in on the action with intense winds and a near 30 degree drop in temperature. It went from hot and humid to, “Where is the blanket?” Sunday morning was gorgeous.

Burr Pond State Park (CT)

by Bill Florin, posted in Hiking, Nature Photography, Photography, Uncategorized
Burr Pond from the south end.
A butterfly working that last of the summer flowers.
Chipmunk snack.
Draggonfly. There were plenty.
Walk slowly and you will see the frogs.
The granite boulder that looks improbable.

Burr Pond State Park in Connecticut offers an opportunity to spend a full day of swimming, hiking, and firing up the grill. During our walk on July 16, 2016 we took it slow; it was more of a nature walk than a hike.

The loop around the pond is under three miles, but there is plenty to see. Fauna is abundant. Flora (or flowers, at least), in mid-July…not so much.

If you visiting during the summer month, pack a lunch or a cooler (no alcohol) for a BBQ. Hike. Kyack. Swim. Enjoy the respite from the daily grind and find your own frog!

Stone Mountain State Park (NC)

by Bill Florin, posted in Hiking, Nature Photography, Photography, Uncategorized
Tumbledown utility building near Cedar Ridge
Evergreen cone on Wolf Rock
Cedar Ridge with Stone Mountain to the left
Looking up at Stone Mountain from the Hutchinson Homestead
The home is gone, but the chimnet remains near Cedar Ridge
Part of the Hutchinson Homestead below Stone Mountain
Erosion on Cedar Ridge
Wolf Rock Vista

Nearly every day over the past weeks, we have all been inundated with horrible news. Dozens dead in Orlando. A maniac with a truck wipes out scores of lives in Nice. Cops shot. It’s enough to make one want to give up, or at least head to the woods for a while.

Yesterday’s Time magazine arrived on schedule. (Yes, we are still old-school paper in the mailbox for this and a few other mags.) In it was a wonderful article called “The Healing Power of Nature.” If you are like me, you spend a lot of time in the woods. I try to get out there at least once a week; it is restorative and peaceful and makes me feel like I have had time off. Maybe this Time piece explains it. Maybe it’s the majesty of creation. Whatever it is, I like being there, discovering new jaw-dropping vistas, and looking back on my photos.

This brings me to my motivation for this and future blogs. I am simply going to share my pictures and a few comments on the walk. My goal, as humble as it might be, is to inspire you to get out there. If you can’t – maybe you are a city dweller or are physically limited or have some other good reason – the pictures can still help you decompress.

Enjoy. Breathe. Be.

Peace.

= = =

Stone Mountain State Park in North Carolina is a place one can spend days enjoying. We had just a few hours, enough to make the ride worthwhile, and also enough to make us want to go back for more. The three most interesting features we saw were Wolf Rock, Cedar Ridge, and the Hutchinson Homestead. If you see nothing else, go to these areas of the park. The climbs are moderate, and the Homestead, which also gives you a great view of Stone Mountain, is accessible to those using wheelchairs. You can (though we didn’t) drive right up.